Gas-meter.



W. H. KNIGHT.

GAS METER.

APPLIOATION FILED 00121, 1910.

Patented Mar. 21, 1911.

2 SHEETS-SHEET 1.

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#KW @myx W. H. KNIGHT.

GAS METER.

APPLIGATIDN FILED ou'r. '1, 1910.

Patented-Mal'. 21, 1911.

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WILLIAM H. KNIGHT, 0F EA'ST CLEVELAND, 01110:

GAS-METER.

Specification of Letters Patent.-

Patented Mar.- 21, 19-11.

Application led October 7, 1910. Serial No. 585,762.

vTo all whom 'it may concern:

Be it known that I, WILLIAM H. KNIGHT, a citizen of the United States, residing at East Cleveland, in the, county of Cuyahoga and State of Ohio, have invented a certain new and useful Improvement in Gas-Meters, of which the following is a full, clear, and exact description.

This invention relates to improvements in gas meters.

One of the objects of the invention is to do away with the necessity for soldering or otherwise permanently fastening many of the parts together and to provide a construction such that the meter can be' easily and quickly assembled, and any of the parts that in time require repairs or replacement with new part-s can be readily removed, without requiring the services of one skilled in this particular art or especially familiar with gas meter constructions.

A further object is to provide a gas meter which is strong, durable Aand accurate, and wherein there is little friction or retardation to the movements of the diaphragms and consequently an increase in the capacity of the meter. y

These and other objects are accomplished by my invention which may be briefiy summarized as consisting in certain novell d etails in construction and combinations of parts which will be described in the specification and set forth in the appended claims. In the accompanying sheets of drawings, Figure 1 is a front elevation of a meter constructed in accordance with my invention, portions being broken away; Fig. 2 is a side view of the same with certain portions broken'away and in section; Fig. 3 is a top plan view with portions broken away and inv section; and Fig. 4 is a transverse or horizontal sectional view with certain parts in elevation, the section being taken through the measuring compartments of the meter.

The working parts o f the vmeter are inclosed within a casing which in this case is formed of cast metal, preferably east iron and includes a main or body portion 10 formed in two halves or parts 10* and 10, and a top or gas receiving chamber 11 which receives the gas which is measured by the meter, and incloses the valve mechanism. The halves of the body portion 10 are provided along their adjacent faces with outwardly projecting vertical flanges 12 and are fastened together by bolts or screws 13 passing through these flanges, and the outer faces of these two parts l10l and 10b are provided with flanges 14, to which caps or covers 15 are fastened by screws 16. AThe body portion 10 and the top portion 11 are fastened together by screws 17 which ass through horizontal outwardly exten ing flanges 18 and 19, rovided respectively at the upper edges of t e two parts of the body portion 10 and at the bottom of the top portion or receiving chamber 11. By thus constructing and fastening together the parts of the casing, not only can the parts be read ily assembled or taken apart, but in case one portion of the casing is broken, the entire casing is thereby not ruined, as is the case when the easing is formed .in one integral part, or in several parts permanent-ly fas tened together.

The body portion 10, which may be termed the gas measuring portion is divided into two parts or chambers by a vertical dividing partition 20, and the receiving chamber 11 is separated from the measuring portion 10 by a so-called platform 21, to which the upper edge of the partition 20 may be secured by soldering. Instead of soldering or otherwise permanently fastening the partition 20 and the platform 21 to the walls of the casing, I secure them to the latter by extending the edges of the partition 2O between the fianges 12, by which the halves 1()l and 10" of thebody ortion are fastened together, and Vby extending the edges of the platform 21 outwardly between the fianges 18 and 19 by which the body portion 10 and the receiving chamber 11 are fastened together, and these edges of the partition and platform are tightly clamped between these flanges by the fastening screws 13 and 17 extending throughl the flanges. Suitable gaskets 22 are preferably'provided between the edges of the partition and platform and the adjacent flanges to prevent leakage of The meter which I have here shown is of a well known type having four gas measuring compartments, two on each 'side of the partition 20, and consisting of diaphragms 23 and the spaces 24 onthe exterior of said diaphragms. The gas is delivered to the receiving chamber 11 and from the measuring compartments by a tubular inlet member'v25, and a tubular outlet member 26 reeach diaphragm to spcctircly lo which inlet and outlet pipes 2 and 2S are connected by coupling nuts 29. The gas is adapted tobe delivered to the interior of the diaphragms 23 and to the spaces or chambers 24 on the exterior of the diaphragms on both sides of the partition .20 by the inlet ports and valve mechanism which may be designated as a whole by the reference character 30. As this valve mechanism forms no part of the resent invention, adetail description of t e same .is believed to be unnecessary.

One of the important features of my invention resides in the means which I have provided for fastening the diaphragins in position and for conducting the gas to and from these diaphragme AIn this case, each diaphragm consists of an innerdisk 32 which is normally stationary, an outer movable disk adapted to move toward and away from the disk 32, and a flexible connecting portion 34, preferably formed of leather. Instead 'of permanently fastening the partition, such as by soldering, I connect it thereto in a manner such that it can be easily removed, in case the diaphragm is worn out,--this being accomplished in the following manner :-To carry the gas to and'from each diaphragm, I employ channels 35 which are formed on opposite sides of the partition 20, and at their upper ends passageway with the valve ports. These channels 35 are extended downwardly a greater distance than in the usual constructions, and at substantially the center of the partition 20, each channel is provided with an outwardly extending annular flange v36 which is threaded on the exterior. Also the inner disk V32 of each diaphragm is provided with an annular flange 37 which is threaded on its interior, and the diaphragm is fastened in position by screwing the flange of the inner disk 32 onto the flange 36.

As in the usual gas meter constructions, the movement of each diaphragm is transmitted to the registering mechanism, which may be ydesignated as a whole by reference character 39, by. means of a vertical oscillatory shaft or so-called stalf 40, and by means of a so-called llag 41, which is vfastened to the stall' and is pivotally connected to the outer diaphragm disk by means of a member called a carriage. In this case, instead of pivotallv connecting the inner end of the flag direct y to the outer diaphragm. disk, I connect the flag to a swiveled plate or member 42 which at its center is swiveled tothev center of the outer diaphragm disk by apin or stud 43 which extends outwardly from the disk and may be secured thereto by soldering or other means. This swiveled member 42 is provided as shown in Figs. 1 and 4 with a pair of diametrically opposite arms or wings 42,

@fratrie communicate by a suitable 4 The flag is connected to this l swivelcd member 42 b Va. carriage 44, the outer portion of which 1s ivotally connected to the inner end of the tiag by means of a pintle or pin 45, and the inner end of which is connected By a pintle 46 to outwardly projecting lugs or eyes 4&7v Secured to the swiveled member 42. In this manner I se-` cure a double pivotal connection between the outer diaphragm disk and the flag, whereas in the usual constructions the carriage is fixed to the outer diaphragm disk and is connected to the flaur by a single pivotal connection. By providing the double pivotal connection, the flag has little tendency to incline or tip\the outer diaphragm disk 33 as it is moved, toward and away from the partition, or toward and away from the inner diaphragm disk 32. As a further means for causing the outer disk 33 of each diaphragm to move toward and awa from the inner diaphragm disk in paralle ism thereto, or without material inclination, I employ the usual guide wire 49 which is substantially U-shaped, as shown, and which is loosely mounted in supporting members 50 projecting inwardly from the casing and i loosely engaging near its free ends guides 50a which are secured to the wings 42 of the swiveled member 42, instead of being fastened directly to the outer diaphragm disk 33, as has been done in the past.

The removal of a diaphragm of my improved meter is a very sim le matter as compared with the removal oPa. diaphragm of the usual soldered constructions. To re move a diaphragm, the inner end of the carria-ge 44 is disconnected from the lugs 47 by removing the pintle 46. Then by turning the swiveled plate lirst in one direction and then in the other, the ends of the guide wire 49 can be readily slipped out of the openings inthe guides 50. Then to disconnect the diaphragm, the latter is simply unscrewed from the threaded flange of the corresponding channel 35.

Illa-Ve also provided very elfective means for sealing the meter, or for preventing the meter being tampered with. The provision for sealing the meter consists in this case of lugs 53 on the tubular inlet and outlet members 25 and 26,A provided with openings for a.- sealing wire, and suitable openings 54 provided through llanoes 55 on the nut couplers 29. To effectively seal the meter, two short sealing wires will be employed, and each will be passed through the opening in one of the lugs 53 and through the opening in the corresponding nut 29.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim is:

1. A gas meter casing composed of a body portion and a top or gas receiving portion secured thereto, the body portion being formed in separable halves having at their adjacent faces outwardly extending flanges j tended which aresecured together, and the halves of the body portion and the top portion having outwardly projecting flanges which are secured together.

2. In a gas meter, a casing having a main or body portion formed in two sections secured together at their adjacent faces, a pai'- tition dividing the body portion of the casbers, the edges'of the partit-ion being exbetween the adjacent faces of the two sections and 'being secured to the casing by being clamped between saidfaces.

3. In a gas meter, a casing having a main or body portion formed in two sections s'ecured together, tnd a gas receiving portion secured to the body portion, a partition dividing the said body portion into separate as measuring chambers, and a platform orming the base of the gas receiving chamber and separating the latter from the gas measuring chambers, the edges of the partition being clamped .between the adjacent faces of two sections ofthe body portion of the casing, and the edges of the platform being clamped between adjacent faces of the body 'portion and the gas receiving portion.

4. In a gas meter, a casing having a main or body portion formed in two section'i provided with outwardly extending adjacent flanges secured together, and a gas receiving lportion at the top of the body portion, said gas receiving portion and the top of the body portion having outwardly'extending flanges secured together, a vertical partition dividing the body portion into separate gas ineasf uring chambers, and a horizontal platform forming the base of the gas receiving cham ber and separating the latter from the gas measuring chambers, the partition and platform being secured together at substantially right anglesl to each other, and the edges of the partition being clamped between the flanges of the two sections of the body portion of the casing, and the edges of the platform. being clamped between the adjacent ing into two separate gas measuring chanifilanges of the body portion and of the gas receiving portion.

5. In a gas meter, a casing, a diaphragm within the casing and comprising a disk and a flexible portion connected thereto, an oscillatory shaft or staff, a member swiveled to said disk, and means for transmitting movement between said diaphragm and staff coinprising a member fastened to said staff and means pivotally connecting said last named member to said swiveled member.A

6. In a gas meter, a casing having a gas receiving portion, and a main'or body portion, a .partition dividing the same into gas measuring compartments, diaphragms on opposite sides of the partit-ion, each comprising a disk, and a flexible portion connected Y thereto, a .plate swiveled to saiddisk, an oscillatory shaft. a flag fastened to the staff, and means pivotally connecting said flag to said swiveled member.

7. Iii a gas meter, a casing, a diaphragm in said casing comprising a isk and a flexib le port-ion connected thereto, a s member swiveled to said disk, an oscillatory staff, a flag connected to said. stati', means pivotally connecting said fla g to said swiveled member. guides on said swiveled member, and a guide wire loosely connected to said guides.

8. In a' gas meter, a casing, a diaphragm in said casing comprising a disk and a flexible portion connected thereto, a member swiveled to the disk, an oscillatory staff, and means for transmitting movement between the diaphragm and the staff comprising a flag fastened to the staff and a--carriage piin otally connected to the flag, and means piv otally connecting the carriage -to the swiveled member. j f

In testimony whereof, I hereunto ailix my signaturel in the presence of two witnesses.

H. R. SULLIVAN, A. F. Kwis. l 

